Kronotsky (Кроноцкий) Nature Reserve is a Russian zapovednik reserved for the study of natural sciences in the remote Russian Far East, on the coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula. It was created in 1934 and its current boundary contains an area of 10,990 km2 (4,240 sq mi). The largest lake in the reserve is Lake Kronotskoye, which covers an area of 246 square kilometres (95 sq mi). It also has Russia's only geyser basin, plus several mountain ranges with numerous volcanoes, both active and extinct. Due to its often-harsh climate and its mix of volcanoes and geysers, it is frequently described as the Land of Fire and Ice.